PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This application is for support of the 51st annual ASN meeting to be held in Saint Charles, Missouri from April 18-22, 2020. Previous NIH funding has been invaluable for supporting our scientific programs and for enhancing our ability to involve graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and underrepresented groups and to enhance their careers. To accommodate the breadth of neurochemistry and to provide in-depth analyses of particular topics, the ASN continues to build its scientific program around four interwoven, but distinct, themes: 1) Building the Nervous System/Neurodevelopment, 2) Cellular Metabolism and Neurotransmission/Cognition, 3) Glial Function in Health and Disease, and 4) Neurodegeneration. These themes have been selected to increase our understanding of the cellular and molecular basis of neural development and disease. Each theme has one of the four Plenary/Presidential speakers and is represented in varying proportions each year based on the submission of session proposals from the ASN membership and neurochemistry community. The ASN is strongly committed to the representation of women, underrepresented minorities and persons with disabilities at its meetings. Two of the four Plenary/Presidential speakers are female, 50% of the Chairs/Co- Chairs of Symposia and Colloquia are female, 45% of the Speakers of Symposia and Colloquia are female, while 6% are from underrepresented minorities. The ASN strongly supports young investigators in their development; representation of trainees/junior faculty in these sessions is 42% for Chairs/Co-Chairs and 47% for speakers. The ASN meeting provides numerous opportunities for participants to exchange ideas and to form new collaborations: total expected attendance is ~ 400, and there are numerous opportunities incorporated in our program for participants to congregate informally. The Society also has multiple mechanisms to enhance the professional development of young investigators during the meeting: 1) career development sessions run by the young investigator committee, 2) a student/postdoctoral fellow mingle for networking, 3) a ?Women in Neurochemistry? function that is open to all attendees, 4) oral sessions selected from submitted abstracts, with an emphasis on presentations from trainees, 5) travel awards for outstanding graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and junior researchers and under-represented trainees to defray their costs of attendance, and 6) a job- posting site and opportunities for trainees to meet with potential future mentors or colleagues. In 2010, we added a program for visiting high-school students to engage these future scientists. From results of yearly exit surveys, we are confident that the annual ASN meeting will continue to provide an excellent venue for cutting edge neurochemistry and neurobiology, and for enhancing the careers of young investigators.